


In Sickness and In Health

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 07:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6974248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having become bed ridden with a mysterious illness, Victor Stone goes to great lengths to find a cure for his friend Gar Logan. Eventual Gar/Vic. Majorly inspired by the animated series, but also taking from pre-New 52 comics in general.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sickness and In Health

“105.” 

Normally a 105 degree fever would be a great cause of concern, but considering that Gar’s natural resting body temperature was a bit higher than most peoples’, usually hovering around 100 and 101, Vic was only slightly worried. 

Gar had come to him for the third night in a row complaining of a fever, nausea, and lightheadedness, all symptoms pointing towards the flu. Each night Vic just gave him some Tylenol and made him drink a bunch of water before sending him to bed. Everyday though he seemed to be getting worse and worse. And if Vic knew Gar, he had probably been feeling crummy for a while before finally deciding to come to him. 

That had been nearly a month ago. Today Gar could barely seem to keep his eyes open and his breathing was shallow and his fever still hadn’t broke. It didn’t get higher, but it didn’t really get lower either. He was always complaining about being cold and last week Vic had made him basically move into the med-bay where he could keep a closer eye on him. Not that that would be hard considering Gar didn’t get out of bed much these days. 

The others visited him frequently. Kory stopped by as often as she could and updated him on what was happening, who they were fighting, drama between the other Titans, and just generally tried to keep him preoccupied. The no-longer Boy Wonder, who was currently in an in-between phase of Robin and something else, offered words of advice and sympathy. Even Raven’s been stopping by and attempting to heal him with her magic, which unfortunately didn’t do much. 

“You didn’t eat much today,” Vic pointed out. He had brought him an orange and two bananas in the morning and vegetable soup and some toast later in the evening. Gar had eaten one banana, a few spoonfuls of the soup and half the toast. 

“Can’t. My stomach hurts,” he mumbled from the bed. Vic knew that his stomach hurt. He knew his head was light and his chest and throat sore. What he didn’t know was why. He had taken multiple blood, stool and urine samples from Gar and run a myriad of tests, all of which pointed to nothing. All he could do was treat the symptoms and try to lessen the pain. 

Opening a bottle of tramadol, Vic broke one pill in half and handed it to Gar. 

“Here, take this.” 

Gar took the pill from Vic and reached for the glass of water on his bedside. Popping it into his mouth like how he had done so many times before, he took a swig of water and tried to force it down his throat. Only now his body instead worked against him and he found himself coughing and spluttering and spitting it back out, vomiting what little contents his stomach held immediately after. He managed to get most of the puke out the side of his bed and onto the laminated flooring, but a good amount did end up down his chin and shirt. 

Vic moved out of the way in time to avoid getting hit by the splatter, but he closed the distance between them when Gar was done, careful to avoid the vomit. Gar groaned and doubled over, his stomach feeling like a sour and painful mess. 

“Ok, it’s ok,” Vic muttered, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way. “Come on, we gotta get you cleaned up. Can you walk?” He did his best to keep the alarm and worry out of his voice. Gar had gotten sick before, but over the last few months it’s been more frequently and it had never been this bad or lasted for this long before.

Gar nodded and moved to get out of bed. Vic carefully led him around the puddle of partially digested food and helped him to the bathroom. It was a locker-style restroom, complete with a couple shower stalls, a bench across from them, a toilet on the other side and a sink. Carefully sitting him down on the bench, Vic motioned for him to lift his arms. He half expected Gar to protest, insisting he could at least take his own shirt off. Instead he just silently complied and let his friend pull the soiled garment off of him. 

With his shirt off, Vic could see now exactly how much weight Gar had lost over the course of the last couple months. He guessed around 10 to 15 pounds and Gar was already a skinny kid; his ribs were now partially visible and his collarbone jutted out harshly. He didn’t know what to think, but it was becoming more and more evident that this wasn’t just your regular cold or flu. Something was seriously wrong with his friend and for the first time Vic wasn’t sure if he could help him. 

“Uh, you need any help getting in and out of the shower?” Vic asked, a bit awkward despite trying not to be and for the first time in a while Gar managed a smirk. His head leaning against the wall behind him for support, he raised his eyebrows suggestively. 

“Vic, I know how eager you are to see me naked, but I wouldn’t mind a little privacy,” he replied dryly, able to tell that they could both use a little humor right about now. And Vic honestly was a bit relieved to hear him crack a joke. Snorting, the older man just shook his head and began walking towards the door. 

“Sure thing, hot shot,” he retorted, “Just holler if you need anything.” 

Watching him close the door behind him, Gar simply sat there for a few minutes and listened to his own breathing which gently rattled his chest with each inhale and exhale. Eventually, he removed the rest of his clothes and slowly got up. He could have moved at a glacier’s pace and still would have gotten dizzy and lightheaded. Steadying himself, he kicked aside his pants and briefs and slowly made his way towards the shower. He waited until it got nearly piping hot before entering. He always liked hot showers, on more than once occasion using up all the hot water before anyone else could get a chance to. He stood for a bit and let the water wash away the vomit on his chest and arms, opening his mouth to let the water collect in there and swishing it around before spitting it out to clean his mouth a bit. 

Eventually he just sat down, leaning against the tiled wall and actually feeling a bit cozy under the hot torrent pouring onto him. It was nice. Comforting. He couldn’t hear his rattling chest in there, just the sound of water hitting his head and the floor. He could have stayed there like that for hours if Vic hadn’t eventually knocked on the door. 

“Gar? You all right in there?” He called out, his voice muffled through the door and over the shower. Opening his eyes, Gar wondered how long he had stayed like that. 

Getting back up was quite the struggle, but he eventually managed despite his head feeling just about drained. Turning off the water, he got out and searched for a towel. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” Well, as fine as he could be anyway. Finding a pile of them stacked neatly under the sink he dried himself off and wrapped another one around his waist. 

“Ok. I got some clean clothes for you out here.”

When Gar stepped out he saw that Vic had cleaned up his mess and had placed a grey t-shirt and a pair of navy blue sweats on the bed. They were a couple sizes too big so he guessed they were Robin’s. 

“Your room was way too messy to go through and I couldn’t figure out what was dirty and was clean,” Vic explained. 

Gar simply shrugged and dressed into them. He was beyond the point of caring about modesty and he doubted Vic did either. Climbing back into bed, he snuggled under the blankets tried to slow down his breathing which had become a bit loud and fast after having exerted himself from simply getting dressed. 

He glanced at Vic who seated himself in the chair facing his bed. He was making that face he always made when he was deep into contemplating something. From the furrowed brow to the small, tight frown Gar could tell that Vic was mulling over something. 

“What’s up?” he asked, still not a fan of silence. Vic looked at him, but then quickly looked away. 

“I’m thinking… that maybe I’m not the right person to figure out whatever’s wrong with you. Nothing I’ve done has helped and you’re only getting worse,” he admitted. Gar knew that. 

“So what? Hospital?” He didn’t much like the idea of that. Hospitals only instilled dread in him. He hated how they smelled, how they looked, and just about everything about them. Vic knew that, but also thought that a hospital couldn’t be of much help either. 

Gar’s unique physiology would prove to be a puzzle in itself to any standardly trained doctor. Hell, it was a puzzle to anyone. Gar admitted that he himself wasn’t exactly sure how his powers worked and why he was able to break the first law of thermodynamics, changing the very makeup of his body as simply as other people changed their clothes. 

No, a hospital wouldn’t be much help. 

“I was thinking maybe someone a bit more qualified in meta-human physiology. Maybe the Justice League knows someone. Or the Doom Patrol?”

The Doom Patrol remained a touch subject for Gar, but Vic was getting desperate. 

Gar remained silent for a bit. He turned to lay on his back and studied the splatter on the ceiling for a bit. 

“Yeah. Maybe… No one’s heard of him in years though?”

“Who?”

“Dr. Niles Caulder. He found the Doom Patrol, but the others got in a fight with him and kicked him off. I don’t know much about him, he left about a year after I joined the team. He knew a lot about me though.” 

The scientist was very interested in Gar when he first joined up. He had spent hours in the old man’s office and till today Gar attributed his fear and hatred of needles to him. He had poked and prodded enough times until Rita finally put her foot down and forbade him from ‘studying’ little Gar anymore. 

“Dr. Caulder? That sounds familiar,” Vic mused. Having grown up in a household of scientists, he knew more about the academia world than he did of celebrity and pop culture sometimes. Scientists looooved to gossip and talk about each other, criticizing or praising each other’s research. 

Caulder. Caulder…. 

“Wait. Caulder??” Vic suddenly exclaimed, “The world-renowned brain and neurosurgeon?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? I only really knew him as the Chief.”

“What? Gar, he preformed the first successful brain transplant back in the sixties. Do you know crazy that is? He found the Doom Patrol?”

Gar smiled. He was back to lying on side and facing Vic, it was funny to see him geeking out like this over some old fart who Gar thought of as nothing more than the source of constant strife between the Doom Patrol. Dayton had taken up that role once Caulder was gone. But that was besides the point… 

“Yeah. But like I said, no one’s seen him in years. Plus, I’d have to call Rita and then she’s gonna get all worried about me-“

“Gar, in the past month you’ve spent more time in this room than in your own room. We gotta find this guy. If you think he can help you, then you better pick a phone, call your mom and ask her where the hell he is,” Vic said seriously, but Gar just grimaced. 

“Dude, she gets sooooo stressed if she thinks I’m sick. When I was little if I even sneezed in front of her she would check my temperature.”   
“Aww, does Gar not wanna scare his mama?” Vic teased causing Gar to groan. They laughed about it before Vic took on a serious approach again.

“But seriously, Gar. We need to find this guy. I don’t wanna think about might happen if we don’t and I can’t help you.” 

Gar closed his eyes and let out a breath. He nodded in agreement, unable to think of any alternatives. Besides, a call back home was a bit overdue anyway. 

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“I know I’m right… And, I know you’re scared. I know you don’t like to show it cuz you don’t want to worry the rest of us more than we already are, but I promise. I don’t care if I have to take you to Superman himself, we’re going to find out what’s wrong with you and make you better.” 

Gar couldn’t help his smile. He has been scared, that was true. Thoughts that he might be dying or just remain permanently weak had been crossing his mind nearly everyday. But if Vic said he was going to get better, well. Then he believed him.


End file.
